Catch up with Coach M - Edition 46 - Under vs Over Eating, Autoimmune Triggers & Recovery Tips

👋 Hey friends — A Deeper Dive Today (Grab a Tea or coffee☕)

Today’s post is a bit longer, but every topic I’m covering is deeply personal — and incredibly important.

I’m sharing the kind of stuff I live with daily, work through with clients, and geek out about behind the scenes.

🎯 What’s Inside:

• The truth about under-eating vs. over-eating — and how to break the cycle

• How to fuel your body without going to extremes

• A guide to autoimmune conditions, common food triggers, and elimination diets

• Plus: A recovery protocol I’m following after last week’s crash landing 💥

  
  

This is real talk — no trendy diet fluff, no fear-based nonsense — just body wisdom, practical strategies, and reminders that you’re not alone if you’re feeling tired, foggy, inflamed, or just plain stuck.

Let’s get into it. 👇

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🧠 A Real Talk on under and over eating Nutrition, Hormones & Finding Balance

Open your phone and scroll social media for 30 seconds — and you’ll see it:

🥗 “Eat these 6 fat-burning meals!”

🧊 “Lose 5kg in a week with ice baths and fasting!”

📉 “Stick to 1200 calories — it works!”

🥩 “Eat only protein for 30 days!”

Sound familiar?

We’re bombarded with food advice, most of it overly simplified, fear-based, and often ignoring the most important factor: your body is unique.

Here’s the truth:

✅ No one-size-fits-all plan will work for everyone.

✅ Your body is not a machine — it's a living, adapting, intelligent system.

✅ Under-eating and over-eating are both symptoms of deeper imbalances.

✅ The solution is never “less food” — it’s better fuel and more support.

Let’s clear the confusion. Today lets breakdown why your body responds to food the way it does, what happens when things fall out of balance, and how to start fixing it — without going to extremes.

⚙️ Your Body Is a Smart, Adaptive System

Your body isn’t working against you. In fact, it’s always trying to keep you alive — even when you're unintentionally making things harder for it.

It performs thousands of processes every second:🧬 Digesting, balancing hormones, detoxing, rebuilding cells, regulating temperature, and more.

To keep all of these systems running smoothly, your body needs:

✅ Enough calories

✅ The right variety of nutrients

✅ Balanced blood sugar

✅ Stress management

✅ Proper digestion

When these needs aren’t met consistently, your body adapts — but not in ways that feel good.

🔻 What Happens When You Undereat

Whether it’s intentional (dieting) or unintentional (stress, poor appetite, misinformation), under-eating sends danger signals to your body.

Even if you’re eating “clean,” skipping meals or eating too little can lead to:

🔥 Consequences of Undereating:

• Slowed metabolism and thyroid function

• Fatigue, brain fog, poor concentration

• Low libido, missed or irregular periods

• Constant cold hands and feet

• Poor sleep, restlessness, and anxiety

• Muscle loss and poor workout recovery

• Digestive issues (constipation, bloating)

• Binge-eating urges

👉 Most worrying? Many active women and men unknowingly under-eat — aiming for 1200–1500 calories because they’ve been told it’s “normal.”

📉 Spoiler alert: Most of the time this is the amount a small child or totally sedentary adult needs — not an adult with a job, a gym routine, and life responsibilities.

🔺 What Happens When You Overeat

Overeating isn’t just one big meal — it’s often a pattern of over-fuelling, emotional eating, or rebounding from restriction.

💬 Common Causes of Overeating:

• Skipping meals → ravenous at night

• Emotional triggers (stress, boredom, loneliness)

• Excess restriction → rebound eating

• Poor blood sugar control → intense cravings

• Lack of meal planning → impulsive choices

⚠️ Consequences of Overeating:

• Fat storage and inflammation

• Blood sugar spikes → energy crashes

• Brain fog and sluggishness

• Digestive issues (bloating, reflux, irregular bowels)

• Mood swings and anxiety

• Hormonal imbalances (especially insulin, cortisol, oestrogen)

  
  

👉 Again — this isn’t about willpower. Overeating is often your body asking: “Why didn’t I get what I

needed earlier?”

🔄 The Diet Cycle: Why You’re Stuck

Let’s say you start under-eating to lose weight. You feel tired, and eventually, your hunger overrides your willpower.

You binge or overeat. Then you feel guilt… so you restrict again.

Sound familiar?

This is the classic:

Restrict → Binge → Guilt → Restrict cycle.

The more times you go through it, the harder it becomes to trust your body or understand what it actually needs.

🛠️ Step 1: Start With Awareness — Why Food Tracking is Your First Step to Healing

Before you change your diet, supplements, or workouts, you need to understand what your body is experiencing now.

🔎 Tracking is the bridge between confusion and clarity.

Why Tracking Matters (It’s Not About Perfection)

Think of food tracking like keeping a journal. You’re not doing it to judge yourself — you're doing it to learn your body’s patterns and needs.

It helps reveal:

• What foods keep you energized (and which ones don’t)

• Whether you're truly eating enough

• How emotions influence cravings

• What meals satisfy you — and which trigger crashes

  
  

What to Track (Simple, Not Stressful)

You don’t need a spreadsheet. Use a free app, journal, or voice notes. Do this for 7–10 days — honestly (weekends too!).

🎯 Your goal: Get your average calorie intake for the week and observe how you feel.

📝 Track These 4 Things:

1. What You Eat

   • Meals, snacks, drinks (include portions — a kitchen scale helps!)

2. When You Eat

   • Log the time of day to spot long gaps or skipped meals

3. How You Feel Physically

   • Energy (alert, tired, wired?)

   • Digestion (bloating, regularity)

   • Mood (foggy, anxious, calm?)

   • Hunger/craving levels (0 = not hungry, 10 = starving)

4. Emotional State

   • Were you stressed, rushed, lonely, bored, or tired when eating?

   • Did eating feel soothing, chaotic, or guilt-inducing?

     
     

💡 The Real Goal: Data, not drama.

Once you spot patterns, you can make smarter choices, not just follow another random plan.

2️⃣ Step 2: Rebuild Intake

🔁 Under-Eating → Reverse Dieting

If you’re stuck under your BMR (Basal metabolic rate) calories per day, increase slowly to avoid fat gain and support your metabolism.

✅ How to Reverse Diet:

• Calculate your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure)

• Find your maintenance range

• Start where you are now - add 50–100 calories/week until you're back to maintenance. Maintain for 3-6 months. before changing to a deficit.

• Focus on nutrient-dense foods (not just oils or carbs)

• Be consistent — your body needs to trust you again

• 📈 Yes, the scale may go up temporarily — trust the process!

  
  

🛒 What to Add:

• 🍠 Root vegetables & whole grains

• 🥑 Fats: avocado, olive oil, seeds

• 🥩 Lean proteins: eggs, chicken, fish, legumes

• 🥬 Fiber-rich vegetables and fermented foods

📉 Overeating → Flexible Dieting

If you’ve been eating in excess, gradually reduce intake to avoid metabolic slowdown and burnout.

✅ How to Reduce Intelligently:

• Calculate your TDEE

• Get your weekly maintenance calorie intake average

• Subtract 20–25% of total calories (weekly, not daily)

• Prioritize real, nourishing foods

• Be patient — your body will stabilize

• 🎢 Expect weight fluctuations early on — stay consistent

  
  

🛒 What to Add (same as above):

• 🍠 Whole food carbs

• 🥑 Healthy fats

• 🥩 Quality proteins

• 🥬 Gut-supportive veggies

  
  

3️⃣ Step 3: Balance Your Meals

A balanced meal keeps you full, energized, and steady — not chasing cravings or napping at 2 PM.

🍽️ The Formula:

Protein + Fiber + Healthy Fats + Colour (plants)

🥗 Example Meals:

• Breakfast: Scrambled eggs + sautéed spinach + sourdough + berries

• Lunch: Chicken breast + quinoa + mixed greens + olive oil dressing

• Dinner: Grilled salmon + sweet potato + broccoli + sauerkraut

👉 These meals support digestion, blood sugar, and hormone health.

4️⃣ Step 4: Eat Enough, Often Enough

Aim for 3-4 main meals and if you are Very active - a 5th meal might be needed.

⏰ Skipping or spacing meals too far apart leads to:

• Sugar cravings

• Evening binges

• Mood swings

• Poor sleep

  
  

5️⃣ 🥦 Step 5: Eat More Plants, More Variety

Your gut, hormones, and immunity are directly tied to what you eat.

🧬 Your gut microbiome loves diversity. A wide range of fiber supports:

✅ Nutrient absorption

✅ Digestion

✅ Hormonal detox

✅ Mood and brain health

✅ Immunity

🎯 Goal: 20–30 plant foods/week

🥕 Vegetables to Rotate:

Cruciferous (hormones/liver): Broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, Brussels sprouts

Root Veg (digestion/blood sugar): Sweet potatoes and potatoes, carrots, parsnips, beets

Alliums (prebiotics/immune): Garlic, onions, leeks, shallots

Fermentable Fibers: Asparagus, artichokes, peas, mushrooms, okra

Leafy Greens: Spinach, arugula, romaine, chard, dandelion greens

🌾 Prebiotic-Rich Foods:

• Garlic, onion, leeks

• Asparagus, bananas (green)

• Jerusalem artichoke

• Oats, barley, flaxseeds

• Chicory root

🦠 Probiotic Foods:

• Yogurt (with live cultures)

• Kefir

• Sauerkraut (raw)

• Kimchi

• Miso

• Tempeh

• Kombucha

• Naturally fermented pickles

  
  

👉 Look for "live cultures" on the label — avoid shelf-stable options!

🌈 Eat the Rainbow (More Variety = Better Health):

• 🟥 Red: Tomatoes, red peppers, radishes, strawberries

• 🟧 Orange: Carrots, pumpkin, squash, oranges

• 🟨 Yellow: Corn, yellow peppers, lemons

• 🟩 Green: Broccoli, spinach, zucchini

• 🟦 Blue/Purple: Eggplant, cabbage, blueberries

• ⚪ White/Brown: Garlic, onions, mushrooms, cauliflower

6️⃣ Step 6: Heal Emotional Eating (With Compassion)

Ask: What am I truly hungry for?

Start spotting patterns:

• Stress = Chips

• Boredom = Grazing

• Loneliness = Comfort foods

  
  

🧘 Create a toolbox of non-food coping strategies:

• Walks, baths, journaling

• Breathwork, gentle movement

• Talking to a coach or therapist

• A soothing bedtime routine

  
  

7️⃣ Step 7: Rebuild Trust With Your Body

Let go of perfection. You don’t need to hit macros 100% of the time — but you do need to show up with intention.

💛 Make better choices most of the time. Your body is on your side.

8️⃣ Step 8: Planning is the Key to Success

📝 This journey requires planning — not winging it.

You MUST:

• Set aside time weekly to plan your meals

• Shop based on your plan

• Prep if needed

  
  

🚫 Walking into the kitchen asking “What’s for dinner?” = poor choices and no progress.

💥 Final Reminder: Long-Term Health > Short-Term Control

Over-eating or over-restricting might bring short wins, but at what cost?

🧠 Brain fog

🛌 Low energy

💔 Hormonal chaos

⚠️ Weight regain

🤯 Emotional burnout

✨ Fuel your body like you respect it, not like you’re trying to control it.

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🛑 Autoimmune Conditions & Food: Eliminate to Discover Your Triggers

If you're living with an autoimmune condition - diagnosed or un diagnosed, your body may be in a constant state of inflammation, even if you're doing "all the right things."

✨ The truth? What you eat can either calm the fire — or fan the flames.

🔬 What Is Autoimmunity?

Autoimmune diseases happen when the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissues. This can affect your gut, skin, joints, hormones, thyroid, and nervous system.

Your body is not broken — it’s responding to underlying inflammation, stress, and immune confusion. And food is one of the most powerful tools to reduce that inflammation.

📋 Common Autoimmune & Immune-Linked Conditions

Grouped by system for clarity:

🧠 Nervous System & Brain

• Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

• Autoimmune Encephalitis

• Myasthenia Gravis

• Autoimmune Peripheral Neuropathy

• Fibromyalgia 

  
  

🦴 Joints, Muscles & Pain

• Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)

• Ankylosing Spondylitis

• Lupus (SLE)

• Polymyalgia Rheumatica

• Myositis

• Fibromyalgia (chronic pain, fatigue, brain fog)

  
  

🧬 Thyroid & Hormonal

• Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis

• Graves’ Disease

• Addison’s Disease

• Type 1 Diabetes

• Premature Ovarian Insufficiency (POI)

• Autoimmune Polyglandular Syndrome

  
  

🧻 Gut & Digestive

• Celiac Disease

• Crohn’s Disease

• Ulcerative Colitis

• Microscopic Colitis

• Autoimmune Gastritis

  
  

🌿 Skin & Hair

• Psoriasis

• Eczema

• Vitiligo

• Lichen Planus

• Alopecia Areata

  
  

🧪 Could Food Be Triggering You?

Even “healthy” foods can cause a flare if they’re triggering your immune system or aggravating your gut.

🚩 Common Symptoms of Food Sensitivity or Flare-Ups:

• Bloating, IBS symptoms, reflux

• Joint pain, muscle stiffness

• Fatigue or “crash” days

• Headaches or migraines

• Skin rashes or acne

• Anxiety, irritability, brain fog

• Hormonal symptoms worsening before periods

• Energy crashes after meals

  
  

If you’ve said, “I feel worse after I eat, but I don’t know why” — an elimination strategy can help identify your personal triggers.

🧼 The Elimination Phase: A Reset for Your Immune & Gut Health

The goal isn’t to restrict forever — it’s to calm inflammation, remove immune triggers, and create clarity about what your body tolerates. follow the food diary instructions above.

❌ Temporarily Remove (2–6 Weeks):

• Gluten-containing grains (wheat, rye, barley)

• Dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt)

• Refined sugar + artificial sweeteners

• Industrial seed oils (canola, soybean, corn oil)

• Nightshades (for some: tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, white potatoes)

• Eggs (sometimes problematic with autoimmune thyroid conditions)

• Soy and legumes (case by case)

• Caffeine & alcohol (optional, but helpful in flare phases)

  
  

✅ Reintroduce Mindfully (One at a Time)

After 3–6 weeks, reintroduce foods slowly — one at a time every 3–7 days — and track symptoms. Reactions can be immediate or delayed (up to 72 hours).

Use a simple tracking method (notes app, food diary, or symptom journal) to log:

📅 What you ate

🕒 When you ate it

⚡ How you felt (energy, digestion, pain, mood, sleep)

🌿 BONUS: What’s a Low-FODMAP Diet?

If your autoimmune condition affects digestion (like IBS, IBD, Hashimoto’s, or fibromyalgia), you may also benefit from a low-FODMAP approach.

🧬 FODMAPs = Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, and Polyols

These are types of carbs that ferment in the gut and can trigger bloating, gas, pain, or diarrhoea in sensitive people.

🛑 High-FODMAP Foods (Temporarily Reduce):

• Onions, garlic, leeks

• Wheat, rye, barley

• Red and yellow Apples, pears, watermelon, mango

• Cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts

• Lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans

• Milk, yogurt, soft cheeses

• Sugar alcohols (sorbitol, xylitol, erythritol)

  
  

✅ Low-FODMAP Alternatives:

• Zucchini, spinach, carrots, bell peppers

• Strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, oranges

• Gluten-free grains: rice, quinoa, oats

• Lactose-free or dairy-free products

• Lean meats, eggs (unless reacting)

• Garlic-infused oil (safe flavour alternative)

🎯 FODMAP isn’t forever — it’s a tool to help calm symptoms while rebuilding your gut health.

❤️ Final Thoughts: Your Body Isn’t Broken

Your symptoms aren’t random — they’re messages.

When you remove triggers, support your gut, eat with intention, and track how you feel, your body starts to trust again.

It’s not about being perfect — it’s about being aware.

💛 Your body isn’t fighting you — it’s asking for support.

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📝 Coach’s Training Diary: Recovery Mode (But Still Moving 🏃‍♀️💪)

So… remember my spectacular trail-running crash landing last week? 😅 Yeah, I felt that one all over — and as promised, I dialled things back a bit this week.

👉 But here’s the thing: recovery doesn’t mean doing nothing.

It means training smart, working around pain or injury, and supporting your body where it needs the most help.

🔄 What Recovery Actually Looked Like for me: (its a personal approach for everyone!)

This week was slower in intensity, not necessarily in total hours.

I swapped impact-heavy sessions for more joint-friendly options, managed around bruises, roasties 🩹, and some lingering inflammation — and of course, worked with the joy of cold, wet winter weather 🌧️.

Instead of cancelling everything, I focused on adaptation and intention. Here’s how that played out:

📅 My Week of Modified Movement:

✅ 2 Strength Sessions– Scaled volume and adjusted exercises to avoid stress on sore joints. Still got the work in — just smarter.

✅ 1 Long Run– Took it slow and steady on flatter terrain. No hero pace, just time on legs and checking in with the body.

✅ 1 Trail Hike– Lower impact, but still a beautiful way to move and connect with nature 🌲

✅ 3 Rehab/non impact cardio + Mobility Sessions– These were the game changers! Focused on hips, ankles, shoulders — plus lots of myofascial release and breathwork.

✅ 1 Sauna Session 🔥– My go-to for inflammation support, circulation boost, and mental reset.

✅ 1 Ride Session 🚴‍♀️– Swapped a run day for cycling — low impact, high reward.

❌ No Swimming This Week– I skipped it due to infection risk. With my autoimmune tendencies, open wounds and pool water just don’t mix — safety first!

💡 Real Talk on Recovery:

Recovery isn’t passive — it’s proactive. Whether you're an athlete, coach, or someone juggling health challenges, adapting your movement is a sign of wisdom, not weakness.

You’re not “falling behind” — you’re investing in long-term resilience. 💛

So if your week doesn’t go to plan? Adjust. Replace. Recalibrate.

Show up anyway — just in a way your body can handle that day.

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✅ Ready to Take the Next Step?

Let’s make it personal. I can help you!

Your body isn’t broken. It’s just waiting for the right support. 💛

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💛 Thanks for Stopping By!

Thank you so much for joining me again this week — I truly appreciate each and every one of you who takes the time to read, share, and connect.

🌧️ To my Southern Hemisphere crew: stay warm, cosy, and gentle with yourselves as winter settles in.

☀️ And to all my Northern friends: summer is here — soak up the sunshine, get outside, and enjoy every golden moment.

Wherever you are in the world, keep showing up for your body and honouring what it needs. You’re doing better than you think. 💫

See you next week with more insights, tips, and real talk from the journey.

Stay kind. Stay curious. Stay moving

.— With love, Coach M💪✨